MSC Says India Ship Was ‘Properly Proceeding’ Before Collision

Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The MSC Chitra was “properly
proceeding” in the navigation channel off Mumbai before a
collision with another ship that caused it to shed hundreds of
containers into the sea, said operator Mediterranean Shipping Co.

The Khalijia 3 “unexpectedly” extended a turn and crashed
into the Chitra, Geneva-based MSC, the world’s second-largest
container line, said yesterday in a statement on its website.

“It would appear that under the rules of navigation, the
Khalijia 3 was significantly in error,” MSC said, citing a
preliminary review of a black-box recording. A formal inquiry
will be undertaken by the Mumbai authorities, it said.

An official for Kuwait-based Gulf Rocks Co., the owner of
the Khalijia 3, declined to comment, citing an on-going
investigation into the Aug. 7 collision. He declined to be
identified because of a company policy.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mumbai Port, which together
handle about 40 percent of India’s exports, were closed for a
third day today as work continued on recovering containers from
the Chitra. India ordered salvagers to speed up the work with
the aim of completing the task by Aug. 14, Rakesh Srivastava,
the joint secretary for ports at the Ministry of Shipping, said
yesterday.

The two ship captains blamed each other for the collision,
said Kaisar Khalid, deputy commissioner of police, port zone,
Mumbai Police. No one has been arrested and authorities are
still examining radio and navigation data, he said.

“There is no timeframe for the investigation as it is a
very time-consuming affair,” he said. “Once we have analyzed
the data, we will accordingly take action against the
responsible party.”

The Khalijia 3, a commodity vessel, had recently been
salvaged from a three week-long grounding and was heading into
port to unload its cargo under the control of salvors, MSC said.